Check out all the highlights as they happened: Canada's entrance, the Donald Trump impersonator, Tonga's shirtless flag bearer, and more

Welcome to our live coverage of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic opening ceremony. Scroll through for photos and highlights as they happened in South Korea, from Canada’s entrance into the stadium to the Donald Trump impersonator and Tonga’s shirtless flag bearer.

The Canadian delegation, led by flag bearers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, marches into the opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Feb. 9.

5:30am ET: Hi, I’m Erin Valois from the National Post and I’ll be one of your thrilling guides to the spectacle that is the Olympic opening ceremonies. It’s one of the coldest Winter Olympics on record, so everyone thought it would be a fun idea to have an open-air stadium. Life is short.

5:35am ET: We watched a joint North-South taekwondo performance before the start. Unity is a big theme here. There were women in red screaming like mad in one section — I think those must be the North Korean cheerleaders.

6:04am ET: The Wi-Fi is down at the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, but fear not — we’ve got you covered here in Canada as the ceremony gets underway. Thanks for following along with us.

6:15am ET: If you’re wondering what you missed in South Korea while you were sleeping, check out our morning roundup. It has all the headlines you need to start your Olympic day, plus a primer on the Canadians in action and the events you shouldn’t miss tonight.

6:22am ET: Some photos from the early minutes of the opening ceremony:

Members of the North Korean delegation wave flags of the combined Koreas.

Actors portray a white tiger at the opening ceremony.

Children perform at the ceremony.

Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium.

6:25am ET: The Parade of Nations has started. As the home of the modern Olympic movement, Greece marches in first. Ghana is second. Their flag bearer is Akwasi Frimpong, a Dutch-based skeleton slider who is just the second Ghanaian to compete at the Winter Games.

6:33am ET: Canadian bobsledder Kaillie Humphries salutes her family and fans back home in a quick interview on CBC. Humphries and former partner Heather Moyse carried Canada’s flag at the closing ceremony four years ago in Sochi, where they won their second straight Olympic gold medal.

6:35am ET: The latest from our friends stranded without internet at the opening ceremony: There are people dressed in pink moving the athletes along to make sure there are no stragglers. Amazing.

6:40am ET: The Americans — keeping toasty in their battery-powered heated uniforms — are in the stadium. We’re still waiting on Canada.

6:42am ET: Here’s an update from Bloomberg on what the North Koreans are up to in Pyeongchang:

“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands and spoke briefly with North Korea’s ceremonial head of state at a reception Friday before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, according to South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan.

“The greeting with Kim Yong Nam was Abe’s first interaction with a member of the Kim Jong Un regime. The Japanese leader has stood alongside the U.S. in taking a hard line on the isolated nation, pushing for increased pressure and sanctions.

“U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, didn’t come across the North Korean delegation in the five minutes he attended the event, according to a senior White House aide. He was approached by 30 or 40 people and chatted with them before leaving, the aide said.”

IOC president Thomas Bach and South Korean President Moon Jae-in wave during the opening ceremony.

Performers perform.

Performers bow backstage.

Germany enters the stadium.

6:52am ET: The latest word from the stadium: A Donald Trump impersonator who looked exactly like Trump just greeted a Kim Jong Un lookalike in the stands. It caused a huge commotion.

Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, is attending the Olympics. She shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the VIP section at the stadium as the ceremony began, reports Bloomberg.

6:56am ET: The Olympic Athletes from Russia just entered behind the neutral Olympic rings. They don’t get to have a flag bearer, part of their punishment imposed by the IOC for rampant, state-sponsored doping four years ago in Sochi.

In case you missed the news, 47 Russian athletes and coaches had their last-ditch attempts to be cleared for competition denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport just a few hours ago. Christie Blatchford has the story.

7am ET: A sampling of photos from the parade:

American athletes enter the stadium.

Brazil.

Great Britain.

Switzerland.

Karen and Mike Pence.

Fans wearing Russian colours, unlike the Russian athletes.

7:02am ET: It took just over an hour, but the Canadians are in the stadium. They’re led by flag bearers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, gold-medal hopefuls in ice dance.

Canada has sent 225 athletes to compete in South Korea. Postmedia amateur sports reporter Dan Barnes thinks they’ll win 32 medals, six more than the national record of 26 from Vancouver 2010.

Canada.

7:06am ET: The latest word from our Erin Valois in Pyeongchang: We thought a lot of the athletes left after their walk through the stadium because it seemed like there were tons of empty seats in their section — but it turns out the light show made it look like no one was there. There are lots of people in seats.

7:09am ET: Remember Pia Taufatofua, Tonga’s glistening flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Rio 2016? He’s competing in cross-country skiing in Pyeongchang, and just carried the Tongan flag into the stadium without a shirt. It feels like -15 C with the wind, and Bermuda’s shorts suddenly look very warm.

Brr.

7:14am ET: More photos:

Japan.

Iceland.

Australia.

Don’t call them Russia.

The Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Canada.

7:25am ET: The Parade of Nations is over, but the photos from the scene haven’t stopped flowing in:

France.

The unified Korean team.

The unified Korean team.

A woman holds the South Korean flag outside the stadium.

7:31am ET: If your day is just starting, here’s a reminder to check out Hot Buttered Post, our morning roundup of what you missed overnight at the Olympics.

7:37am ET: A few more shots from the Parade of Nations, as the speeches begin and the Olympics draw closer to officially opening:

7:43am ET: After IOC President Thomas Bach preached a message of peace in his keynote speech, South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the Games to be open. The children from the first part of the ceremony have reappeared, in the words of CBC broadcaster Scott Russell, and singers are delivering a rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine.

7:51am ET: A few more photos from the festivities:

Canada.

Canada.

North Korean cheerleaders in the stands.

Italy.

China.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Performers.

Canada.

7:55am ET: The Olympic flag has been raised, and the Olympic anthem is ringing through the stadium. No word on whether the Olympic Athletes from Russia are singing along.

Korean athletes carry the Olympic flag into the ceremony.

Fireworks.

More fireworks.

8:11am ET: The Olympic flame is alight, and Pyeongchang 2018 has officially started. (Kudos to the mixed doubles curling teams, who all squeezed four of their seven round-robin games in before the ceremony.)

8:19am ET: That’s all from us for now — thanks for following along throughout the ceremony. We’ll have all sorts of stories from Pyeongchang over the next couple weeks, so check in regularly for the latest news, analysis and commentary.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.